The Devil and the Arrow
by aehawthorne
Summary: Matt Murdock and Oliver Queen run into one another as a result of a breach randomly opening up between their two universes


data-p-id=6d603a14719cfe7e1fddc47c7f867c8b,Matt's first thought was_ This isn't Hell's Kitchen._ He knew what home felt like, and everything here, from the air to the ground on which he stood, felt fundamentally different from that. Matt had lived in Hell's Kitchen all his life. He knew the pulse of the neighborhood as well as he knew his own, and right now that pulse was conspicuously absent.

data-p-id=bc472a5df6acec32f03f4ce3517c2004,The last thing he remembered, he'd been chasing some thug down an alleyway when he'd run headlong into a strange roaring, rushing noise, and ended up here. Wherever_ here_ was. He felt a shift in the air and whipped his head around, trying to pinpoint the source...there. Through the patchwork of information his senses were giving him- heavy footsteps, a slow, steady heartbeat, bones shifting as someone drew in careful, even breaths, currents of air created as someone moved through it- Matt formed a mental picture of someone heavy and broad-shouldered creeping along a rooftop toward him with careful footsteps, their fingers tightening on...was that a bowstring? Barton jumped into Matt's mind, but he dismissed that possibility out of hand. His images of Barton and this person didn't match up. As he continued to piece together information about the person approaching him, he heard the tiny _click_ of a comm link being turned on, and then they spoke.

data-p-id=66d5ce4921492286320b9d63aa2660a0,"Overwatch," Oliver said, keeping his voice low.

data-p-id=e601bf43548dd199cec24a96a6c963b3,_"Here,"_ Felicity's voice sounded in his ear.

data-p-id=3bea0f367adee36b61f1f0407f26ce08,"I've reached the site of the unusual breach activity," Oliver said, perhaps unnecessarily- there was a tracker in his suit.

data-p-id=b0a2d074f35d79e6584b227d65af70f1,_"Okay, give me a sec,_" Felicity said. There was a clatter of keyboard keys in the background, and then she said, _"Yeah, you should be right on top of the breacher."_

data-p-id=197a2d540ae26763cdb8b78423ab9369,"I don't see anything," Oliver said, scanning the rooftop across from him and the alley below him. "Remind me again why we're monitoring for unusual breach activity?" He was well aware that "unusual" in this sense meant "anything that can't be attributed to Cisco".

data-p-id=c7026f23a121adf094e9ad5f5ff3a1e0,_"I shouldn't_ have_ to remind you how much trouble we've had with breachers lately,"_ Felicity pointed out. _"Remember how Nazi versions of you and Kara crashed Barry and Iris' wedding?"_ Oliver heard the shudder in her voice at the word "Nazi". _"Not to mention that we're _still _dealing with Black Siren."_

data-p-id=6ff3f36037b3dba8313b5d0685842fe9,"Alright, point taken," Oliver replied, allowing himself a small smile. Spotting movement down in the alley below him, he added, "Hang on, I think I see something."

data-p-id=cc626b2053d50b15a75ddc7039c21700,"Who's there?" he asked, raising his voice to be heard by whoever was lurking in the alley. "Show yourself." He didn't bother with his voice modulator, since there was no chance that the person in the alley knew him, but he did lower his pitch and add a rasp that wasn't present in his normal speaking voice, the combined effect of which Felicity referred to as his "vigilante voice". A figure emerged into the meager light from a distant streetlight. They were dressed in a red and black bodysuit that appeared to be constructed out of some kind of Kevlar like material with lightweight armor plates layered over it in crucial areas. On their head was a combination helmet and mask with sculpted devil horns on it. Upon closer inspection, Oliver realized that though there were spots were the eyeholes of the mask would be, it didn't actually have any, just more of the same material of the rest of the helmet in a slightly darker red.

data-p-id=409331f0f7551476b21c306b905ab699,"Who are you?" Oliver demanded.

data-p-id=762b6e46db9c8f42f2cae20f64df237c,"They call me the Devil of Hell's Kitchen," the person in the alley called up to him. His shoulders lifting in a shrug, he added, "Or Daredevil. You?"

data-p-id=3780d29f211f59b7fdc4938f33821357,"I'm the Green Arrow," Oliver replied brusquely. If this breacher was going to use a codename, than so was he. He heard Daredevil's snort of laughter, but ignored it. "Why are you here? What Earth did you breach from?"

data-p-id=5b5787615501be7c8f0da9900e901483,"What Earth did I...?" Daredevil asked, clearly confused. "I don't know what you're talking about. Last thing I remember, I was chasing some thug, and the next thing I know I'm here. I don't know where_ here_ is, but I know it's not Hell's Kitchen. It doesn't feel right." Oliver noted his use of "feel" rather than "look". He wondered what the significance of that might be.

data-p-id=1637944dc4c25191f3a0ff5feefb41e4,"Overwatch," he said, pressing a hand to his chest to turn on his comm.

data-p-id=db0dc49014b8dffa48e03e2c4d2954b0,_"Yeah?"_ Felicity asked.

data-p-id=7cf5cecee96e3d20b6a57fefa7a0a1b2,"I'm going to have to bring the breacher to the bunker," he told her. "Things just got a whole lot more complicated."

data-p-id=3913ea61427cd21a7575074896becb17,Matt wasn't sure what to expect when Oliver - they had dispensed with the use of codenames about halfway through the journey to the place that he had referred to as "the bunker" in his earlier conversation- had brought him to rendezvous with the rest of his team, but he had to admit, if only to himself, that someone - a woman, he could tell by the voice - gasping "Oh my God, he's blind!" the second he'd taken off his helmet hadn't contributed to a particularly good first impression. Matt couldn't exactly hold her reaction against her though. A lot of people had a similar one, the first time they met him. As Matt moved around the bunker, getting a sense of the new space, he heard the heavy tramp of Oliver's boots as he crossed the room and climbed some stairs onto a raised platform.

data-p-id=67e50361b0f379f5ee73d6166206b0a0,"Felicity," he said in a low voice, and the sound of typing that had permeated the room abruptly ceased. "Where is everyone?"

data-p-id=297a3991c96a85a22b54dff282b884af," Still out on patrol, " the woman who had spoken earlier- Felicity, apparently- replied. She hit a few keys, presumably to confirm, then said, "Yeah. It looks pretty quiet out there though. Do you want to bring them back?"

data-p-id=4e5c12400be588f2568b7316939aafb5,"Not just yet," Oliver said. "Could you call Cisco though? We're going to need him on this."

data-p-id=9815588e54cafbe00bc732f804ffc782,"Barry too?" Felicity asked.

data-p-id=100bfde6ec04dd130add15a4e96aaa4e,"Might as well," Oliver replied. "You might want to loop Curtis in as well. If we're going to get Matt back to...wherever it is he comes from"- At this point Matt sensed that both of their heads were turned toward him- "We're going to need as many minds working on it as possible." Matt didn't hear Oliver move, but a moment later, he _did_ hear Felicity talking to people who weren't in the room, presumably over the phone. Either that, or over the comms that she used to communicate with the rest of Oliver's team. A few minutes after that, there was that roaring, rushing sound that had brought Matt to what was apparently a different universe, and the bunker was suddenly full of footsteps and voices- people who hadn't been there just a second ago.

data-p-id=cfd6573ba772dd8cacc4026ca817ba96,"Let's go," Oliver said, his footsteps moving past Matt. "We should give them space to work."

data-p-id=ef22cebfbce2ab3b0f89b9e21445ee55,"Where are we going?" Matt asked, following after him, hearing the stiff sailcloth rustle of leather, the rattle of the pulleys on his bow as he adjusted his grip on it.

data-p-id=5bada8b93b99d973a3d3dba08e7a2df8,"To patrol," Oliver stated simply. "The criminals in this city don't stop being criminals just because we're otherwise occupied." Matt nodded, pulling on his helmet as they stepped into the elevator that had brought them down to the bunker. What Oliver spoke of was the one thing about this strange new world that Matt understood. Saving his city from those who would prey on its weak and vulnerable was a concept he was well acquainted with.

data-p-id=1382abf3b7728567ed808237c70318ac,The night was drawing to a close, and Oliver was finding himself continually stunned by the enigma that was Matt Murdock. He was one hell of a fighter, matching Oliver- and his opponents- kick for kick and blow for blow. On several occasions Oliver had even caught him using something that, if it wasn't League training, was remarkably similar to it. It was hard not to feel outclassed by him.

data-p-id=76db4e56c7e9d6095603ebbd4675d369,_"Oliver,"_ Felicity said in his ear. She wasn't using his codename because he was the only one listening.

data-p-id=58b287890f6aebd433334bafad1b4c81,"Go," Oliver replied.

data-p-id=5ca528ab4bc4d4461dcf3128bdd86277,_"You guys need to come back to the bunker," _Felicity said._ "Cisco thinks he's got something."_

data-p-id=87e4044ba7647c010d7f017c8bf3eecb,"Alright," Oliver said. "I was about ready to call it a night anyway. See you in a few."

data-p-id=0c54fa3731715d4a6a5dd18c0f35e525,_"Uh huh,"_Felicity replied, her statement punctuated by a _click_ as she disconnected.

data-p-id=f4c180b3b6c5f323c8e2e583c16bae5f,"Let's go," Oliver said to Matt. "They need you back at the bunker. They think they've figured out how to get you back home." Matt nodded and followed after him without a word.

data-p-id=c32ec4a9e7a3abaa5ff0948600f7a21f,Matt wasn't entirely surprised at the amount of relief he felt when he arrived back at the bunker. The place was a veritable fortress. It was hard _not_ to feel safe within its walls. Not to mention that he would likely be going home soon.

data-p-id=c419014ffe21417e5dcbb8909bf42ddb,"Hey!" someone called out in greeting when he entered. A male voice. Footsteps rushed toward him, and a moment, the same voice said, "I'm Cisco," the words accompanied by the rustle of long hair being brushed back.

data-p-id=4615aaa0feb19714bca94c23b200e779,"Are you the one who can get me home?" Matt asked, eager to get right to the point. He sensed Cisco falter, just for a moment.

data-p-id=f0ac7ce57af33d29d445d2dbbbcec179,"Yeah," he said. "I mean, I think so. Probably." Matt didn't think he liked "probably", but it was more than he'd had a few hours ago. He nodded.

data-p-id=3386f8c54973350af7aefdb02b149134,"How?" he asked.

data-p-id=e795908bbcdc44f717173f4812b6b0cd,"It's sorta difficult to explain," Cisco said, "but basically if you've got an object from your universe- besides yourself, of course- I should be able to use it to lock onto that universe's specific vibrational frequency and open a breach there." Matt reached down to the holster at his side and pulled out one of his batons.

data-p-id=651f279a65773a9574d8d40882ab36f3,"Will this work?" he asked, holding it out to Cisco.

data-p-id=81899de2caef712b38cf4af1a791bebf,"Yeah," Cisco said, taking it from him. He seemed surprised that he'd gotten what needed so quickly. "Hang on." There were several long moments of silence, then he exclaimed "Got it!" and Matt heard the roaring, rushing sound that's become familiar.

data-p-id=4c8aad86464daf9576fa2aeb8dfdc55c,"Here," Cisco said, handing him back his baton. "I get the feeling you're going to need this. Good luck out there, Daredevil." Matt's mouth quirked upward at the codename. He slipped the baton back into his holster, nodded to Cisco, then stepped into the roaring rush not far ahead of him. The moment he was through he could sense it- he was home.


End file.
